Shirt retainer



July 1, 1969 J 5, TRENT 3,452,401

SHIRT RETAINER Filed July 21, 1967 INVENTOR John Scott Trent United States Patent US. 'Cl. 247 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A shirt retainer for holding the front of a mans shirt in its normal tucked-in position within his trousers. The retainer includes an upper bracket defining an aperture insertable over the lowermost button of the front of a shirt, an elastic strap extending downwardly from the upper bracket, and a sliding button clasp connected to the lower end of the strap for connection to the lower body undergarment.

Background of the invention For proper and neat appearance, it is necessary that a gentlemans shirt be neatly tucked into his trousers, especially the front portion of his shirt. A neatly tucked shirt is required by the military services and highly desirable to every neatly dressed man. A stout man or a man having a low waistline has more difiiculty in maintaining a neat shirt appearance since the absence of a well defined waistline allows his trousers to slide over the trunk of his body. The movement of the trousers over the body in this manner results in disturbing the arrangement of a well tucked shirt tail.

Because of an enlarged flesh area in the neck region, a stout man encounters some aggravation in collar movement over the surface of his neck. Only a small amount of increased flesh and tissue in the neck region is required to cause a shirt collar to follow the neck in its various twisting and stretching movements. Collar movement of this type can be highly aggravating and detracts from the general appearance of the man.

Summary of the invention This invention relates to a shirt retainer for holding the front portion of a shirt in a neat, tucked position within the trousers of the wearer, and for maintaining the collar of the shirt down on the neck of the wearer, away from his Adams apple. The shirt retainer comprises a bracket for connection to the lowermost button on the front of the shirt, a sliding button clasp for connection to the fly of shorts or similar lower body undergarment, and an elastic connecting member extending between the bracket and the sliding button clasp. The retainer effectively connects the lowermost button of the shirt to the shorts. The bracket is connected to the button before the button is inserted through its corresponding buttonhole, and under normal circumstances, the lowermost button and the bracket attached thereto are located below the beltline of the wearer. Thus, the shirt retainer is worn in an out-of-sight position.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for holding the front portion of a shirt inside the trousers of the wearer.

Another object of this invention is to provide apparatus for connecting the lowermost button of a shirt to the lower undergarment of the wearer.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device for holding the collar of a shirt in a downward position on the neck of the wearer.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device to be worn within the outer layer of clothing, for maintaining a shirt inside the trousers of a person.

3,452,401 Patented July 1, 1969 Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the follow ing specification, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

Brief description of the drawing FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the shirt retainer.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the shirt retainer, taken along arrows 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the shirt retainer, showing the manner in which the shirt retainer is connected to the garments of a wearer, the garments being shown in part for clarity.

Description of an embodiment Referring now more particularly to the drawing, in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 shows shirt retainer 10 which comprises upper bracket 11, lower sliding button clasp 12, and intermediate elastic connecting strap 14. Upper bracket 11 defines enlarged opening 15 and small opening 16 in open registration with each other. Strap holder opening 18 is positioned adjacent the larger opening 15, and strap 14 extends through opening 18.

Lower sliding button clasp 12 includes lower bracket 19 of a configuration identical to upper bracket 11, and includes large opening 20, smaller opening 21, and strap holder opening 22. Button strap 24 includes an enlargement 25 at one end and a button 26 at its other end. Enlargement 25 is inserted through strap holder opening 18, and folded back through button strap opening 28. Button strap 24 is of a length such that when its enlargement 25 is properly inserted through strap holder opening 22 and button strap opening 28, button 26 will be positioned adjacent the small opening 21 of bracket 19.

Button 26 is constructed with a large surface area 29 and a stem 30 of reduced diameter. Stem 30 is of smaller diameter than the Width of small opening 21, and the enlarged portion of button 26 is of smaller diameter than large opening 20 of bracket 19.

Intermediate elastic connecting strap 14 is fabricated of a single length of elastic material. Strap 14 extends through strap holder opening 18 of upper bracket 11, and the end 31 is stitched to a portion intermediate its ends to make a permanent connection with upper bracket 11. Strap 14 extends through strap holder opening 22 of lower bracket 19, and is folded back toward its central portion. Adjustable catch 32 is connected to the other end of strap 14 and includes U-shaped retaining bend 34 rigidly holding the end of strap 14, bar 35, and pivotal engaging member 36. Engaging member 36 is pivotally connected to bar 35. Bar 35 defines an opening 37 with the main portion of adjustable catch 32. Strap 14 extends through opening 37 and pivotal engaging member 36 normally engages strap 14. When pivotal engaging member 36 is pivoted in the direction as indicated by arrow 39, it no longer engages strap 14, and strap 14 can be adjusted in its effective length, to lengthen or shorten the distance between upper bracket 11 and lower sliding button clasp 12.

As is shown in FIG. 3, shirt retainer 10 is utilized by inserting upper bracket 11 over the button 40 of a shirt. Button 40 is usually the lowermost button of the shirt front, and is inserted through the larger opening of upper bracket 11, and upper bracket 11 is moved in a downward direction until its smaller opening 16 is disposed about the threads 41 of the button. Since smaller opening 16 is smaller than the diameter of button 40, upper bracket 11 will be securely connected to button 40. The outside flap 42 of the shirt is then connected to the inside flap 44 by inserting buttonhole 45 about button 40 in the usual manner. Thus, shirt retainer 10 will be hidden from view.

Lower sliding button clasp 12 is then connected to the fly 46 of the lower undergarment. Bracket 19 is positioned on the outside of the fly opening, button strap 24 is positioned on the inside of fly opening, and the button is wedged into the larger opening 20. of bracket 19, and slid toward the lower opening 21, to grasp the material of undergarment 47. Thus, a firm connection is made between the lowermost button 40 and the lower undergarment 47. Trousers 48 may then be worn in the usual manner and the shirt retainer 10 will usually be positioned at or below the beltline of the wearer. With this arrangement, shirt retainer 10 will always be maintained out of sight and firmly connect the lower front of the shirt to the lower undergarment. If the trousers 48 are worn extremely low on the trunk of the body, the upper portion of shirt retainer 10 may actually be positioned above the beltline of the wearer; however, since upper bracket 11 is positioned between the folds of the shirt, shirt retainer 10 will still be worn out of view.

The resiliency of elastic connecting strap 14 permits various body movements and contortions without notice' able discomfort to the wearer of the shirt retainer. Thus, shirt retainer 10 provides an expedient and convenient manner in which to continuously retain the shirt tail inside the beltline of the trousers, and to prevent the collar of the shirt from riding up the neck of the wearer.

What is claimed as invention is:

1. A garment retaining device adapted to releasably secure a mans shirt and associated undershorts in a desired condition relative to each other, said device being hidden from view when in position and comprising holding means engageable with a button on the shirt, other holding means provided with a fastener and engageable with overlapping portions of the flap of the undergarment to normally retain same in a desired closed condition, and resilient means interconnecting said holding means to prevent sagging of said undershorts when the device is in use.

2. A garment retaining clasp adapted to releasably secure a mans shirt and associated undershorts in a desired condition relative to each other, said clasp being hidden from view when in position and comprising apertured means engageable with a button on the shirt, other apertured means provided with a button and engageable with overlapping portions of the flap of the undergarment to normally retain same in a desired closed position, and elastic means interconnecting said apertured means to prevent sagging of said undershorts when the clasp is in use.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,171,805 2/1916 Russ. 1,368,461 2/1921 Smiley. 1,417,244 5/ 1922. 'Hammerberg. 1,773,538 8/1930 Locke 24'81XR 1,970,052 8/1934 'Moriarty 24 73 XR 2,315,237 3/1943 Wratschko.

' v FOREIGN PATENTS 10,454 1897 Great Britain.

DONALD A. GRIFFIN, Primary Examiner. 

